Chico's Announces Brand Expansion Into Mexico

By Anna Rose Welch, Editorial & Community Director, Advancing RNA

Omni-channel retailer expects more international growth following several brands’ expansions into Canada and Mexico

Chico’s announced it will be crossing the border into Mexico, where it will be opening a stand-alone boutique at Perisur Mall in Mexico City this spring. Through its exclusive franchise with El Puerto de Liverpool, Chico’s hopes to open more of these stand-alone boutiques, along with at least 6 branded shop-in-shops in Liverpool department stores over the first half of 2014. The second stand-alone Chico’s boutique is already in the works and is expected to open in Villahermosa, Tabasco.

Brand president Cinny Murray sees this move as an “incredible growth opportunity for our brand,” which started out originally as a small boutique in Florida selling Mexican folk art and cotton sweaters in 1983. Now, the company operates over 600 Chico’s brand boutiques and over 100 outlets across the U.S and in Puerto Rico. The company is also responsible for several other brands including: White House Black Market, Soma Intimates, and Boston Proper, for a total of 1,470 stores in the U.S. and Canada.

International expansion has been on the company’s mind for a while, as Chico’s VP of international operations Bill Bine says. “We believe Mexico is a great first foray into the international arena for the Chico’s brand. It represents an important part of the overall global expansion of Chico’s.” To aid with this move, the company will be partnered with Liverpool, which Bine says will provide Chico’s with “experience and understanding of the customer in the Mexican market.” 

Last October, the company expanded its White House Black Market brand into Canada when the brand opened for business at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. Two other White House Black Market store openings occurred a few weeks later in Mississauga, ON and Newmarket, ON.

Check out how another retailer expanded its international presence

In addition to these expansions, Chico’s has been making some key omni-channel improvements to aid its customers in all markets. Back in September, the company’s CEO David Dyer said the company investing in enhancements that would offer customer service 24/7, including live chat and product videos. New enhancements to all the brands’ websites also enabled customers to rate and review products.

Chico’s has some initiatives planned in the future to enhance the customer experience. Included in them are: adding more mobile and gifting functions, rolling out more high-tech tables in dressing rooms — an effort which saw great success in its launch in Boston Proper Stores, and implementing a new POS in Canadian stores this spring to handle any new technology “we want to throw at it,” Dyer says.

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